Kids Coяner!
Alex Peak

Truth Behind the Pledge of Allegiance!

We all know the Pledge of Allegiance.  It goes as follows:

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.

Sounds nice, but…

How many of us know the real truth behind the pledge?

The truth is, the pledge was written by a Nazi named Francis Bellamy in 1892.  Bellamy advocated nationalism and socialism.  Four decades later, national socialists in Germany (calling themselves “Nazis” for short) went on to use the government to kill millions of innocent people!

In 1943, the Supreme Court ruled that it unconstitutional to force anyone against his or her will to recite the pledge.  This case was known as West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943).

But despite this Supreme Court ruling, many children are still forced to recite the pledge in government-run schools even today!

The original salute, known as the Bellamy salute, was not merely a hand-over-the-heart as it is today, but in fact very closely resembled the Roman Salute and what would become the Hitler salute.  Here’s a picture of American children being forced to salute the flag back in 1892:

Bellamy’s intent with the pledge was to use it to instil in children loyalty and obedience to government.  Blind, unquestioning obedience.

REMEMBER

Remember, if you don’t want to say the pledge, you don’t have to.  You have the right to tell your teachers about West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, the Supreme Court ruling that protects your right to choose whether or not you make that pledge.

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